Magdalena Andersson and Isabella Lövin to attend Spring Meetings of World Bank and IMF in Washington

Minister for Finance Magdalena Andersson and Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate, and Deputy Prime Minister, Isabella Lövin will attend the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 20–23 April in Washington D.C. The main themes of the meetings are the state of the global economy, inclusive growth, and the future role and resources of the World Bank.

The Spring Meeting of the IMF will address the state of the global economy and the measures that should be taken by the IMF and its Member Countries to strengthen recovery. Ms Andersson will take part in the discussions between finance ministers and heads of central banks, the subjects of which will include how to promote issues linked to inclusive growth.

The Spring Meeting of the World Bank Group will focus on the Group’s role as a development financier, the question of Member Countries’ influence in the Group, and the need to strengthen financial capacity.

In connection with the Spring Meetings, Ms Andersson will host an event on inclusive growth, with a panel discussion on how to turn words into action in the promotion of inclusive growth. She will also deliver an introductory address – alongside Canadian Minister of Finance Bill Morneau – at a seminar on promoting gender equality in access to financial services.

Events attended by Ms Lövin will include a meeting on how climate efforts can be stepped up, also attended by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and others. She will also co-host a round-table discussion, together with the World Bank, on support for the development of social security systems. Ms Lövin will also take part in a panel discussion on the refugee situation with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva, and in meetings about the acute and serious famines in Africa and Yemen.

In connection with the Spring Meetings, Ms Lövin and the Embassy of Sweden in Washington will host a seminar on climate-smart growth and the role of the private sector in climate change adaptation. Seminar participants will include Honorary Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate and former President of Mexico Felipe Caldéron, representatives of the World Resources Institute and the Haga Initiative and several business executives.